2010–11 Aston Villa F.C. season

Main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present)

Aston Villa

2010–11 season
Chairman	Randy Lerner
Manager	Martin O'Neill (until 9 August) Kevin MacDonald (caretaker)(from 9 August to 8 September) Gérard Houllier (from 8 September to 23 April) Gary McAllister (caretaker) (from 23 April to 22 May)
Stadium	Villa Park
Premier League	9th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Quarter-finals
UEFA Europa League	Play-off round
Top goalscorer	League: Darren Bent (9) All: Ashley Young (9)
Highest home attendance	42,785 vs Liverpool (22 May 2011)
Lowest home attendance	18,753 vs Blackburn Rovers (22 September 2010)
Average home league attendance	37,273 (League) 35,548 (All)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Second City Derby

54--37--30

The 2010–11 Premier League season was Aston Villa's 136th season in English football. It was the club's 100th season in the top-flight; and their 23rd consecutive season in the top flight of English football, the Premier League. It was also the first (and only) season under French manager Gérard Houllier, who was appointed after previous boss Martin O'Neill resigned on 9 August 2010. Despite a generally disappointing season in both the league and cup competitions, a late surge allowed the club to finish in 9th position in the Premier League (3 places lower than their 6th-place finish the previous season).

Aston Villa once again competed in the UEFA Europa League, marking their 2nd consecutive season in the tournament and 3rd consecutive season in European competition overall. However, after drawing the away fixture, Aston Villa were eliminated for the second consecutive year in the play-off round, and again at the hands of Rapid Vienna.

This season marked the first time that four West Midlands county clubs performed in the Premier League. Aston Villa once again contested the Second City derby with Birmingham City, who remain in the league, alongside Wolverhampton Wanderers, who also avoided relegation. West Bromwich Albion also joined them in the league, meaning that Villa contested a total of six local derbies throughout the duration of the Premier League season. An additional derby game at Birmingham City took place on 1 December 2010 in the Football League Cup.

Notable events include Kyle Walker scoring on his debut only nine minutes into the match against former club Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup in January 2011. In February, Walker scored his first ever Premier League goal, a 30-yard strike low into the left corner against Fulham.

Kits

Kit Supplier	Sponsor
Nike	Fx Pro

Home

Home alt.

Home alt. 2

Away

Away alt.

Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

Goalkeeper 3

Players

Updated 21 January 2011.

Stiliyan Petrov, the captain of Aston Villa for 2010–11.

Nigel Reo-Coker is the club's vice-captain for this season.

Premier League squad

Players under 21 do not need to be named and can still be used.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	USA	Brad Friedel
2	DF	ENG	Luke Young
3	DF	ENG	Stephen Warnock
5	DF	IRL	Richard Dunne
6	MF	ENG	Stewart Downing
7	MF	ENG	Ashley Young
8	MF	FRA	Robert Pires
9	MF	IRL	Stephen Ireland
10	FW	NOR	John Carew (on loan to Stoke City during the playing season)
11	FW	ENG	Gabriel Agbonlahor
13	MF	USA	Michael Bradley (on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach during the playing season)
17	MF	CMR	Jean Makoun
18	FW	ENG	Emile Heskey

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	MF	BUL	Stiliyan Petrov (captain)
20	MF	ENG	Nigel Reo-Coker (vice-captain)
22	GK	USA	Brad Guzan
23	DF	SEN	Habib Beye
24	DF	ESP	Carlos Cuéllar
27	MF	ENG	Isaiah Osbourne
28	MF	ENG	Jonathan Hogg
29	DF	WAL	James Collins
30	DF	USA	Eric Lichaj (on loan to Leeds United during the playing season)
33	GK	ENG	Andy Marshall
36	DF	ENG	Kyle Walker (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur during the playing season)
37	MF	TOG	Moustapha Salifou
39	FW	ENG	Darren Bent

Under-21 Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
12	MF	ENG	Marc Albrighton
14	FW	ENG	Nathan Delfouneso
16	MF	ENG	Fabian Delph
21	DF	IRL	Ciaran Clark
25	MF	SCO	Barry Bannan
31	MF	AUS	Chris Herd

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
32	DF	ENG	Nathan Baker
34	DF	AUS	Shane Lowry
35	MF	ENG	Daniel Johnson
42	FW	AUT	Andreas Weimann
43	GK	ENG	Elliot Parish

UEFA Europa League Players

These players were not part of Aston Villa's Premier League squad, but were given squad numbers and selected to play for the club in the UEFA Europa League.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
51	DF	ENG	Durrell Berry
53	DF	ENG	Ellis Deeney
54	DF	ENG	Calum Flanagan (on loan at Kettering Town)
55	FW	ENG	Harry Forrester

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
56	MF	ENG	Gary Gardner
57	MF	ENG	Jason Lampkin
58	MF	HUN	András Stieber
59	GK	SUI	Benjamin Siegrist

Squad numbers

Villa's squad numbers for this season were announced on 12 August 2010. The only major changes from the previous year saw defender Stephen Warnock wearing the number 3 shirt which had last belonged to Wilfred Bouma, and Stephen Ireland take over Marlon Harewood's number 9.

Villa's squad numbers were revised ahead of the Premier League fixture at home to Bolton Wanderers on 19 September 2010. Many of the club's young players had their numbers reduced below 30, with the exception of goalkeeper Elliot Parish, who remained at number 43. Andy Marshall retained the number 33 shirt on his return to the club.

Robert Pires took the number 8 shirt on his arrival at the club, which was previously worn by James Milner. Loan signing Kyle Walker received the number 36 shirt, while incoming striker Darren Bent acquired number 39. Newly signed midfielder Jean Makoun took over the number 17 shirt from teammate Moustapha Salifou, who remained without a replacement squad number. Michael Bradley took over the vacant number 13 shirt upon his arrival to Villa on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Managerial changes

Gérard Houllier, Aston Villa's new manager for the 2010–11 season.

Aston Villa completed their pre-season preparations under former boss Martin O'Neill. However, he resigned from his position as manager on 9 August 2010, just five days before Villa's opening Premier League tie at home to West Ham United. Reserve team coach Kevin MacDonald was appointed as caretaker manager with immediate effect.

MacDonald managed Villa until 8 September 2010, when former Liverpool and Olympique Lyonnais manager Gérard Houllier was officially announced as O'Neill's successor. MacDonald had previously announced his intentions to apply for the position on a full-time basis, however the club opted to sign Houllier instead. MacDonald did however take charge of Villa's next two games, before Houllier officially took the reins on 22 September after fulfilling his duties with the France national team.

On 22 April 2011, Gérard Houllier was taken to hospital with chest pains with the doctors fearing another heart attack (he suffered a heart attack in 2001 while manager of Liverpool). It was later ruled out with the Frenchman ordered to bed rest and medicine. Assistant manager Gary McAllister took charge of Houllier's managerial duties on 23 April for the Premier League match with Stoke City at Villa Park, and it was later revealed that Houllier would not be able to return to the touchline until after the end of the season.

Date	Outgoing Manager	New Club	Incoming Manager	Previous Team	Notes
9 August 2010	Martin O'Neill	Unattached	Kevin MacDonald (Caretaker)	Aston Villa Reserves
8 September 2010	Kevin MacDonald (Caretaker)	Aston Villa Reserves	Gérard Houllier	Lyon	Houllier officially took charge on 22 September 2010.

Transfers

Main articles: List of English football transfers summer 2010 and List of English football transfers winter 2010–11

In

Darren Bent became Aston Villa's record signing after joining from Sunderland.

World Cup-winning midfielder Robert Pires joined Aston Villa on a free transfer in November 2010.

Manchester City signed James Milner for an estimated £26 million at the season start, then the highest transfer fee received by Aston Villa.

Stephen Ireland joined from Manchester City at the beginning of the season, but left on loan in January to sign for Newcastle United.

John Carew, Villa's top scorer during 2009–10, left on loan for Stoke City in January 2011.

Summer

Date	Position	Player name	Previous club	League	Transfer fee	Notes
18 August 2010	MF	Stephen Ireland	Manchester City	Premier League	£8 million	Part exchanged for James Milner
3 September 2010	GK	Andy Marshall	Aston Villa	Premier League	Free transfer	Player initially released, but rejoined the club on 3 September 2010.

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	Previous club	League	Transfer fee	Notes
18 November 2010	MF	Robert Pires	Villarreal	Primera División	Free transfer	Player unattached following release from Villarreal
15 January 2011	MF	Jean Makoun	Lyon	Ligue 1	Undisclosed fee	Fee believed to be in region of £6 million
18 January 2011	FW	Darren Bent	Sunderland	Premier League	£18 million	Club record transfer fee, with add-ons potentially rising to £24 million.

Loans in

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Duration	Return
6 January 2011	DF	Kyle Walker	Tottenham Hotspur	Premier League	5 months	End of season
31 January 2011	MF	Michael Bradley	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Bundesliga	5 months	End of season

Trialists

Date	Position	Player name	Club	League	Return	Notes
28 December 2010	FW	Omar Cummings	Colorado Rapids	Major League Soccer	18 January 2011	Had been on trial with a view to a 3-month loan deal. Player was not signed due to work permit issues.

Out

Summer

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Transfer fee	Notes
1 July 2010	DF	Wilfred Bouma	PSV Eindhoven	Eredivisie	Free
1 July 2010	FW	Marlon Harewood	Blackpool	Premier League	Free
1 July 2010	GK	Andy Marshall	Aston Villa	Premier League	Released	Player initially released, but rejoined the club on 3 September 2010.
1 July 2010	DF	Stephen O'Halloran	Coventry City	Championship	Free
13 July 2010	GK	David Bevan	Walsall	League One	Free	Youth player
23 July 2010	MF	Jack Dyer	Burton Albion	League Two	Free	Youth player
9 August 2010	DF	Nicky Shorey	West Bromwich Albion	Premier League	Undisclosed
18 August 2010	MF	James Milner	Manchester City	Premier League	£26 million	Club record. Stephen Ireland accepted in part exchange

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Transfer fee
7 January 2011	FW	James Collins Jr	Shrewsbury Town	League Two	Undisclosed
7 January 2011	MF	Steve Sidwell	Fulham	Premier League	Undisclosed
28 January 2011	DF	Curtis Davies	Birmingham City	Premier League	Undisclosed

Loans out

Summer

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Duration	Return
26 August 2010	FW	Harry Forrester	Kilmarnock	Scottish Premier League	5 months	January 2011

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Duration	Return
15 October 2010	DF	Curtis Davies	Leicester City	Championship	1 month	November 2010
15 October 2010	FW	James Collins Jr	Burton Albion	League Two	1 month	November 2010
10 November 2010	DF	Curtis Davies	Leicester City	Championship	2 months	January 2011
1 January 2011	GK	Brad Guzan	Hull City	Championship	2 months	February 2011
13 January 2011	DF	Shane Lowry	Sheffield United	Championship	5 months	End of season
19 January 2011	FW	Andreas Weimann	Watford	Championship	5 months	End of season
21 January 2011	FW	John Carew	Stoke City	Premier League	5 months	End of season
25 January 2011	MF	Jonathan Hogg	Portsmouth	Championship	5 Months	End of season
29 January 2011	DF	Arsenio Halfhuid	Volendam	Eerste Divisie	5 months	End of season
31 January 2011	MF	Isaiah Osbourne	Sheffield Wednesday	League One	5 months	End of season
31 January 2011	MF	Stephen Ireland	Newcastle United	Premier League	5 months	End of season
9 February 2011	DF	Eric Lichaj	Leeds United	Championship	1 month	March 2011
26 February 2011	DF	Calum Flanagan	Kettering Town	Conference National	5 months	End of season

Spring

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Duration	Return
8 March 2011	MF	Barry Bannan	Leeds United	Championship	1 month	End of season (recalled in April)
8 March 2011	FW	Nathan Delfouneso	Burnley	Championship	2 months	End of season (returned in May)
8 March 2011	GK	Brad Guzan	Hull City	Championship	Short-term emergency loan	May 2011
25 March 2011	GK	Elliot Parish	Lincoln City	League Two	End of season	May 2011

Fixtures and results

Premier League

Main article: 2010–11 Premier League

Villa again competed in the Premier League, after finishing sixth for the third season in a row during 2009–10. The fixtures were officially announced on 17 June 2010.

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	L	W	L	D	W	L	D	L	D	D	W	D	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	D	L	D	W	L	D	D	W	L	L	D	W	W	D	L	D	W	W
Position	3	12	4	7	8	5	8	8	10	14	14	10	9	13	15	16	14	12	13	15	13	14	15	14	15	15	16	12	13	14	15	14	12	13	13	14	13	9

Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
14 August 2010	West Ham United	H	3–0	36,604	Downing 14', Petrov 40', Milner 66'
22 August 2010	Newcastle United	A	0–6	43,546
29 August 2010	Everton	H	1–0	34,725	L. Young 9'
13 September 2010	Stoke City	A	1–2	25,899	Downing 35'
18 September 2010	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–1	34,655	A. Young 13'
26 September 2010	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	2–1	27,511	Downing, Heskey
2 October 2010	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–2	35,871	Albrighton
16 October 2010	Chelsea	H	0–0	40,122
23 October 2010	Sunderland	A	0–1	41,506
31 October 2010	Birmingham City	H	0–0	40,688
6 November 2010	Fulham	A	1–1	25,676	Albrighton
10 November 2010	Blackpool	H	3–2	34,330	Downing, Delfouneso, Collins
13 November 2010	Manchester United	H	2–2	40,073	A. Young (p), Albrighton
21 November 2010	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–2	21,848
27 November 2010	Arsenal	H	2–4	38,544	Clark (2)
6 December 2010	Liverpool	A	0–3	39,079
11 December 2010	West Bromwich Albion	H	2–1	37,015	Downing, Heskey
18 December 2010	Wigan Athletic	A	P-P		POSTPONED
26 December 2010	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–2	39,411	Albrighton
28 December 2010	Manchester City	A	0–4	46,716
2 January 2011	Chelsea	A	3–3	41,222	A. Young (p), Heskey, Clark
5 January 2011	Sunderland	H	0–1	32,627
16 January 2011	Birmingham City	A	1–1	22,287	Collins
22 January 2011	Manchester City	H	1–0	37,815	Bent
25 January 2011	Wigan Athletic	A	2–1	16,442	Agbonlahor, A.Young (p)
1 February 2011	Manchester United	A	1–3	75,256	Bent
5 February 2011	Fulham	H	2–2	35,899	Paintsil (o.g.), Walker
12 February 2011	Blackpool	A	1–1	16,000	Agbonlahor
26 February 2011	Blackburn Rovers	H	4–1	34,309	A. Young (2, 1 p), Hanley (o.g.), Downing
5 March 2011	Bolton Wanderers	A	2–3	22,533	Bent, Albrighton
19 March 2011	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0–1	38,965
2 April 2011	Everton	A	2–2	37,619	Bent (2)
10 April 2011	Newcastle United	H	1–0	37,090	Collins
16 April 2011	West Ham United	A	2–1	33,000	Bent, Agbonlahor
23 April 2011	Stoke City	H	1–1	35,232	Bent
30 April 2011	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–2	25,889	Méïté (o.g.)
7 May 2011	Wigan Athletic	H	1–1	36,293	A.Young
15 May 2011	Arsenal	A	2–1	60,023	Bent (2)
22 May 2011	Liverpool	H	1–0	42,785	Downing

FA Cup

Main article: 2010–11 FA Cup

Villa entered the FA Cup at the third round, which is traditionally played in early January.

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
8 January 2011	R3	Sheffield United	A	3–1	16,888	Walker, Albrighton, Petrov
29 January 2011	R4	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–1	26,067	Clark, Pires, Delfouneso
2 March 2011	R5	Manchester City	A	0–3	27,570

League Cup

Main article: 2010–11 Football League Cup

The club enter the League Cup at the third round as runners-up, after losing in the final of the previous year's tournament to Manchester United.

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
22 September 2010	R3	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–1	18,753	Heskey, A. Young (2)
27 October 2010	R4	Burnley	H	2–1 (aet)	34,618	Heskey, Downing
1 December 2010	QF	Birmingham City	A	1–2	27,679	Agbonlahor

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2010–11 UEFA Europa League

Villa will again compete in the UEFA Europa League after finishing sixth in the Premier League of 2009–10. They will enter at the play-off round.

Play-off round

Main article: 2010–11 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round

On 6 August 2010, Villa were drawn with Rapid Vienna of Austria in the play-off round, the same team that knocked them out at the same stage the previous season. The first leg of the tie was played away at the Gerhard Hanappi Stadium on 19 August, resulting in a 1–1 draw. The teams met again at Villa Park for the return fixture a week later on 26 August, with the Austrian side progressing once again thanks to a 3–2 win.

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
19 August 2010	Play-off round (1)	Rapid Vienna	A	1–1	16,891	Bannan
26 August 2010	Play-off round (2)	Rapid Vienna	H	2–3	29,980	Agbonlahor, Heskey
Rapid Vienna win 4–3 on aggregate.

Friendly matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)	Notes
18 July 2010	Basingstoke Town	A	1–2		Burke	"Aston Villa XI" match
19 July 2010	Peterborough United	A	3–2	1,500	A. Young, Carew, Lichaj
24 July 2010	Bohemians	A	1–2		Carew
26 July 2010	Chasetown	A	0–0	600 (est.)		"Aston Villa XI" match
27 July 2010	Walsall	A	2–1	5,735	Weimann (2)
6 August 2010	Valencia	H	0–0
24 August 2010	Burton Albion	H	5–0	0	Forrester (2), Agbonlahor, Delfouneso, Collins Jnr	Behind-closed-doors friendly at Villa's Bodymoor Heath Training Ground
28 September 2010	Birmingham City	A	0–0	0		Behind-closed-doors friendly at Birmingham City's Wast Hills Training Ground

Guadiana Trophy

Main article: Guadiana Trophy 2010

Villa played in the Guadiana Trophy in the summer as part of their pre-season preparations. The fixtures of this tournament were announced on 20 May 2010. All games were played at the Complexo Desportivo de Vila Real de Santo António in Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal.

As there were only three teams in this year's edition of the Guadiana Trophy, a penalty shootout was carried out at the end of each fixture to make sure that a clear winner could be selected. A penalty shootout was not played in the fixture against Benfica as their win marked them outright tournament winners.

Villa finished second out of third in the tournament.

Date	Day of Tournament	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers (Normal Time)	Penalty Shootout Result	Scorers (Penalty Shootout)
31 July 2010	Day 2	Feyenoord	N	3–1	Albrighton, Heskey, Sidwell	(4–4)	(Carew, Bannan, Shorey, Sidwell)
1 August 2010	Day 3	Benfica	N	1–4	Carew

Goalscorers

Players with the same number of goals are listed alphabetically
  Players highlighted in light grey denote the player had scored for the club before leaving for another club
  Players highlighted in light cyan denote the player has scored for the club after arriving at Aston Villa during the season
  Players highlighted in Blonde denote the player has scored for the club before leaving the club on loan for part/the rest of the season

Player	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup	Europa League	Total
Darren Bent	9				9
Ashley Young	7		2		9
Stewart Downing	7		1		8
Marc Albrighton	5	1			6
Emile Heskey	3		2	1	6
Gabriel Agbonlahor	3		1	1	5
Ciaran Clark	3	1			4
James Collins	3				3
Nathan Delfouneso	1	1			2
Stiliyan Petrov	1	1			2
Kyle Walker	1	1			2
Barry Bannan				1	1
James Milner	1				1
Robert Pires		1			1
Luke Young	1				1
Own goals	3				3
Total Goals	48	6	6	3	63

End of Season Awards

Winner	Award	Runners-Up/Other Nominees
Stewart Downing	FxPro Top Star Award	Brad Friedel Darren Bent Ashley Young
	Fiat Supporters' Player of the Season
	Vodafone Players' Player of the Season
Marc Albrighton	Supporters' Young Player of the Season	–
	Terrace Trophy
Marc Albrighton / Ciaran Clark (Shared)	Players' Young Player of the Year
Marc Albrighton (vs. Fulham, 6 November 2010)	Goal of the Season	Emile Heskey (vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, 26 September 2010)
Tony Morley	Aston Villa Former Players' Association Player of the Season	–

Sponsorship

The logo of FxPro which is set to appear on Aston Villa's shirt

In June 2010, it was revealed on Aston Villa's official website that a new sponsorship deal with Cyprus-based company FxPro Financial Services Limited that will run from 2010 until 2013. The deal, described as "the biggest in the club's history", replaced the charity sponsorship that Aston Villa had with Acorns Children's Hospice for the previous two seasons. However, Acorns were still named as the official charity partner of the club. In February 2011, it was announced that Aston Villa and FxPro had agreed to terminate the deal at the end of the season by mutual consent.